Ugly Food

We've all done it. Or, at the least, I've done it a lot: ugly food. When I started culinary classes, I botched many attempts at making pretty plates. I discovered that I had more of a penchant with desserts, but I totally bomb efforts in that department very often. Ultimately, it's all about the taste. And personally, the "ugly food" makes me chuckle. Hot on the heels of my Sonoran hot dogs post (not so lovely, but oh so tasty), I present some of the ugliest food I've ever made.

ugly whole wheat honey bread
Ugly honey whole wheat bread. Some people can turn out beautiful bread with their eyes closed. Me? I could hide most of my loaves in a rock field and never be able to find them again. Still--honey wheat bread with a smear of butter is a stand-out treat. I use the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and there's a reasonable facsimile here



chocolate . . .
This is that "magic cake" recipe that's been circulating since "wartime" when housewives had to do without eggs, milk, and butter. The recipe uses the chemical reaction between vinegar, water, and chemical leaveners. It looks like it's been through a battle . . . it tasted like it, too. But hey--it's vegan? Here's the gist of it.


chocolate . . .
It was better with ice cream. =D

banana scallops
Top Chef fans might recognize the banana scallops that Blaze made in Season 4. It's a really great recipe. I ate it with a peanut butter sauce ... and with my eyes closed.

strawberry mousse
Epicurious couldn't make it all that pretty, either, though they did a much more respectable job with this strawberry mousse recipe than I did. I had it on ginger snaps--very tasty! But I still need to work on making gelatin-based mousse recipes that don't look . . . regurgitated. (sigh)

Comments

kat said…
All that bread needed was a butter or egg wash before baking & it wold have been beautiful!
Julie said…
Thanks, Kat! That's just a sign that bread-baking still isn't second nature to me--I'd know to glaze, say, a tart, but not bread. =)

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